Post by Logan on Mar 17, 2016 0:53:35 GMT -6
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Ethanol producers across the Corn Belt are being battered by tumbling gasoline prices and a glut of the corn-based fuel, pushing some companies to consider scaling back production or merging with another plant to save money.
Still, the industry is better prepared to withstand the downturn than four years ago, when a widespread drought forced plants to shutter their doors or suspend production.
Plants around Iowa are mostly expected to remain open, experts say, the result of an improved bottom line and support from the federal government's ethanol mandate that has helped spur nationwide demand for the largely corn-based fuel.
That's important in Iowa, the nation's largest producer of ethanol. The industry says ethanol and biodiesel contributes billions of dollars to the economy each year.
Read more: www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/agriculture/2016/03/16/low-oil-prices-drying-up-ethanol-producers-profits/81526518/
Still, the industry is better prepared to withstand the downturn than four years ago, when a widespread drought forced plants to shutter their doors or suspend production.
Plants around Iowa are mostly expected to remain open, experts say, the result of an improved bottom line and support from the federal government's ethanol mandate that has helped spur nationwide demand for the largely corn-based fuel.
That's important in Iowa, the nation's largest producer of ethanol. The industry says ethanol and biodiesel contributes billions of dollars to the economy each year.
Read more: www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/agriculture/2016/03/16/low-oil-prices-drying-up-ethanol-producers-profits/81526518/